Do You Copy.....?

Usually when I write a blog post, it comes from a place of strong opinion. However in this case it is a veritable Pandora's box with no obvious solution. It is the subject of copyrights, royalties and streaming rights.

It has been rearing it's ugly head in the world of drum corps and marching band where I have several links. But also at work in the world of theater, cabaret and music too. Napster scandals were just the tip of the iceberg. We hear about Spotify and Taylor Swift - but these are just the big players. If you are not aware: How many of you remember recording your high school band concert and selling it as a vinyl record? Or videotaping your high school production of Oklahoma and selling dubbed copies to the cast? Not anymore! Yes your schools still have to pay a hefty royalty to TamsWitmark, but that only allows you the rights to perform the production for a meager weekend or two. Anything more than that is an entire can of worms.

In the marching world of color guard, DCI and Bands of America, all three have had to renege on their entire video catalogues of historical archives. We used to be able to pay an annual fee to stream the 1976 Blue Devils or buy a Legacy Series set of the 1983 Championships. That is all on hold for an extended time until lawyers and publishing companies can come to an agreement on what was paid in advance and what is due going forward. Very sad to say. There might be some small profits to be made on this, but I am thinking the Aaron Copland estate is not making any sort of big bucks on his Appalachian Spring that was first published in 1944. Either there are some very greedy descendants or a publishing company in NYC that is trying to suck blood from paper.

The current rights to music extend from 70 years for works prior to 1977 and up to 120 years for music since then! That is over a century of legal hassles. And this is just for performance purposes and speaks not at all to the discussion of sharing via any sort of digital platform. I find this ridiculous. Although I don't begrudge anyone the rights to what is theirs, but considering a normal life expectancy..... I have also found that in a parallel track to patents, a new drug carries only 20 years until it can be reproduced without penalty. I know a different egg, but still there is a 100 year discrepancy which I find quite curious.

So the bottom line, is who should get what? It just seems silly to go after Seneca High School, the Madison Scouts, Black Watch color guard, or the Minneapolis Figure Skating Club who are not seeking to dethrone a publishing empire or pirate a composer. Where does this conversation even begin and who has a rightful place at the table against corporate law? Discussion encouraged.